There are anti-malware programs that will detect threats, of course, and OS X now has some nifty tools built-in that prevent software from running on your machine if it’s not from a trusted source. And if you’re a Google Chrome user, you’ll soon find that malicious downloads are blocked automatically.

Google just rolled out a new Chrome Canary release, which is used to test upcoming features ahead of their public debut. One of the improvements is its ability to detect malware and automatically block it before it’s downloaded to your computer — so it will never make its way onto your hard drive.

All you’ll see is a notification like the one below, which you can then dismiss.

“This is in addition to the 10,000 new websites we flag per day with Safe Browsing, which is used by Chrome and other browsers to keep more than 1 billion web users safe,” Google says on its blog. “Keeping you secure is a top priority, which is why we’re working on additional means to stop malicious software installs as well.”

The new feature isn’t available in the public Chrome release yet, but we should see it soon.

“you’re kidding yourself if you still believe OS X is immune to it. It’s a very real threat,”

Utter hogwash. The threat is minimal, at worst, and nearly non-existent for most users. Yes, under very rare conditions a Mac can become infected, but all-but the most naive and foolish use is safe. Anyone who “updates” their flash from visiting their favorite porn site more or less gets what they deserve. Even then, few Mac users wold be infected as your own graphic demonstrates. Chrome can let all the “content.exe” files on to my Mac and nothing bad will happen. Macs can’t run .exe files.

To pretend there is any real threat to Macs from malware is to pretend, as our military does, that Canada is going to invade the US.

Ianthetechman

I have to say i have never been affected with Malware on any of my Mac’s down the years.

About the author

Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.

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